with gratitude

Three of the beautiful warblers seen heading north this spring included the Canada, Common Yellowthroat and Bay-breasted warblers. I wonder who else will be lucky enough to witness these amazing birds as they make their way to their breeding grounds.

“Surrender to what is. Let go of what was. Have faith in what will be. ” – Sonia Ricotti

“I’m filled with awe and reverence when I look at the natural world. And it’s not a first flush of wonder that fades after I learn more facts. Everything, everything becomes more astounding the more we look at it. Everything.” – Kenn Kaufmann from his book A Season on the Wind – Inside the World of Spring Migration.

Conservationist John Muir was among the first to write about the ecological principle of connectedness. “When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe,” he said.

“Seeing nature is a process, partly, of replacing our arrogance with humility. When we respect the reality which fills the abyss of our ignorance, we begin to see.” – Steven J. Meyers

“I do think we’re being changed and reforged, humbled, and the values of tenderness and care for others may just wind up rising back to the top. Sending love and light across the landscape to all y’all.” – Poet and author Mary Karr

“An attitude of wonder requires that we look anew at the familiar, that we stop taking the world around us for granted. An attitude of wonder acknowledges how little we really know. An attitude of wonder is essential if we are truly to experience the creation and the creator.” – Howard Zehr, The Little Book of Contemplative Photography

A Snowy Owl is spending time at Nickerson Beach on Long Island this Leap Day. Although they breed way up in the Arctic Tundra, these owls, on occasion, show up in unlikely places – like New York. We were sure to stay at least one hundred feet from the well-hidden bird, to be sure not to disturb it.